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How many of us have been asked when someone learns we own an Austin-Healey, "Isn't that the car James Bond drove?" I wish. I wonder if the illustrators of the cover of the LARGE PRINT EDITION of "Live and Let Die" made the same mistake:
That's not to say there wasn't a Bond-Healey connection. Ian Fleming's first foreign assignment as a journalist for Reuters was to Munich to report on the Alpine Motor Trials of July / August 1932. Not just to report but to participate. Fleming would act as navigator to Donald Healey in a four and a half liter Invicta. The Alpine trials had started as a domestic Austrian event but had been extended to all Alpine countries. Fleming drove out, crossing the channel on the Townsend Brothers ferry SS Forde, and used the route south through Rheims, stopping their on the first night. The second night at Freudensdtadt in the Black Forest.
Healey won the coveted Coupe des Glaciers , awarded to the driver who finished without penalty points. On the third day, for the section between Meran and St Moritz, Healey set a new record for the ascent of the Stelvio Pass 23 minutes and 44 seconds. In St Moritz they stayed on at the Grand Hotel
, where all the competitors cars were parked on the tennis courts. The final leg was from Grenoble to San Remo.
From Ian Fleming by Andrew Lycett:
Although Fleming had a strong interest in sporting cars, I can't find any reference that he ever owned a Healey. OTOH, the Bond influence was strong in at least one Healey, featured in the 1967 film "Angel with the Iron Fists" starring Lily Ho as Agent 009. Note the bulletproof screen, machine guns and revolving license plate fitted to this 100/6.
That's not to say there wasn't a Bond-Healey connection. Ian Fleming's first foreign assignment as a journalist for Reuters was to Munich to report on the Alpine Motor Trials of July / August 1932. Not just to report but to participate. Fleming would act as navigator to Donald Healey in a four and a half liter Invicta. The Alpine trials had started as a domestic Austrian event but had been extended to all Alpine countries. Fleming drove out, crossing the channel on the Townsend Brothers ferry SS Forde, and used the route south through Rheims, stopping their on the first night. The second night at Freudensdtadt in the Black Forest.
Healey won the coveted Coupe des Glaciers , awarded to the driver who finished without penalty points. On the third day, for the section between Meran and St Moritz, Healey set a new record for the ascent of the Stelvio Pass 23 minutes and 44 seconds. In St Moritz they stayed on at the Grand Hotel
, where all the competitors cars were parked on the tennis courts. The final leg was from Grenoble to San Remo.From Ian Fleming by Andrew Lycett:
"That night, in St Moritz, Healey and his young navigator stayed at the Grand Hotel, leaving their car parked with all the others on the hotel tennis court. Ian must have found the atmosphere intoxicating. He was back in his favourite Alps. In addition, he was participating in an event which combined all the leisured charm of amateaur sportsmanship with the thrill of of fierce international competition - from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Steyr, Lancia and Bugatti. He was experiencing the world of fast cars, flashing exhausts and international rivalry which he had only read about in Sappers' Bulldog Drummond novels.".
These routes and settings later became backdrops in Goldfinger.Here's a photo of Fleming and the Invicta with DMH behind the wheel. To the right is Tony Lago who drove an Armstrong-Siddeley in the Alpine and later founded Talbot-Lago
These routes and settings later became backdrops in Goldfinger.Here's a photo of Fleming and the Invicta with DMH behind the wheel. To the right is Tony Lago who drove an Armstrong-Siddeley in the Alpine and later founded Talbot-Lago
Although Fleming had a strong interest in sporting cars, I can't find any reference that he ever owned a Healey. OTOH, the Bond influence was strong in at least one Healey, featured in the 1967 film "Angel with the Iron Fists" starring Lily Ho as Agent 009. Note the bulletproof screen, machine guns and revolving license plate fitted to this 100/6.
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